Safety device for electric hoists.



y JQ H. HALL. A SEETY DEVICE FOR ELECTRIC HOST APPLICATION ILIm MAR.1a.191o. f l

Patented May 21,1912.

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JAY H. HALL, OF'CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR T0 THE ELECTRIC CONTROLLER AND MANUFACTURNGCOMYANY, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO, A

CORPORATION OF OHIO.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR, ELECTRIC HOISTS.

rammed.May ai, nire.

Application led March 18, 1910. Serial No. 550,145.

To all whom it ma concern: i Be it known that l., JAY H. HALL. a citi/.cn l ofthe United States, residing at Cleveland, in tlie countyr of Cuyahogaand State of l Ohio, have invented or discovered new and l useful Improvements in Safety Devices for Electric Hoists, of which the following is a specification. im

My invent-ion relates to safety devices designed for use in connect-ion with electric hoisting apparatus, particularly that type ot apparatus in which the motor perates with its field separately excited,that is, excited by a current not flowing' through the armature in series with thc field.

motor with a shunt field always operales with its shunt field separately excited, hut av series wound motor may he connected so that its series field is separately excited during,- certain `portions of its operation hy being connected in series with a resistance across the source of supply. While my invention lcan loe appl ied to a shunt-wound motor, l will describe'it in connection with a motor havin;r its series' field separately excited under certain conditions.

in electric hoist, one type of which is the overhead traveling crane,

is often called upon to raise and lower loads ranging over wide limits, from very light loads which will not overcome the running friction' ofthe hoisting mechanism and require newer to loe applied to the motor to dive them down, to heavy loads up to the capacity of the hoist, which must he prevented from too rapid a descent loy the application of some braking force. f*

My invention is applicable to such hoists as use the. motor to supply this braking force. Such loads as will overhaul the hoisting mechanism are allowed to drive the a generator, generating,` cnrrent which is dissipatedin a resistance or re turned to the source ot supply. Such a system depends for safety upon the integrity of the motor connections and circuits; for, if the armature circuit is open for any rcason,`the bra-king i'orce is removed and the load Will descend under the action of gravity at a speed which may cause the bursting of the armature.

The obg'ect of my invention is to prevent the armature of a motor operating under such condition from attaining too high a y speed when lowering the load.

' 2, the trolley-.wire L,

\ sistance R Yreferring to the accompanyiug` d rawiugs. Figure l is a diagrammtical representation of a motor control system embodying' one form of' my invention; Fig. 2, a diagram of a modification of the safety device shown on Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a diagram of a second modification; and Fig. et, a diagram showing .one form of mechanical closer for the safety switch H.

On the drawings, Fig. l, C is a. eontroller used in connection with the resist ances R and R2. The motor" with the armature and the series field F is arranged to he movable with respect. to the controller (l, and to he connected to the controller hy means of the trolley wires L, M', and N, thc comme tion to the trolley wires being' made through the trolley wheels T. T2, and T3. respcc tively. Traveling with the motor arc also thc friction brake B with the winding B, Ithe safety switch H, and the resistance ll?.

To hoist the load` the operator moves the cont-roller to the firstI position in the hoist ing" direction, at which time the following circuit is established: from through the wire 1, the linger e. the contact c, the contact c2, the fing-fer c2, the wire the trolley-wheel ri", the-wires and Ll. the armaturethe wire 5, the series field F, the brake winding; l5, vthe wire 6, the trolley-wheel T3. tln` trolleywire N. the wire 7, the finger c2, the resistance R', and the wire S to the negative. This circuit connects the armature and the field across the line in series with the rcsistance R in such a manner as to cause the motor to hoist the load. .is soon as this circuitis established, thebrake winding' B heing energized releases the hulle allowingv the motor and the hoisting; mechanism to rotate. Since the resistance lt' in series with the motor, the latter will operate at. its slowest speed. ln order to increase the speed of the motor, the operator moves the controller to the succeeding* positions inthe hoisting direction, thereby, in a manner well known, cutting out portions ot the re until the position 6 is reached, at which time all the resistance is cut outy and the motor is connected directly across the line, the circuit then being as follows: from the positive'through the wire 1, the finger 021, the Contact c', the Contact c2, the finger o23, the wire v 2, the trolleyivi.re L, the trolley-wheel T', the Wires 3 and 4, the

armature A. the wire 5, the. series field F,

'the brake winding B, the 'wire (i, the trolleywheel T, the trolley-wire N, the wire 7, the finger c25, the contact c3, the cross connection to the contact c, the finger 027, and the wire S to the negative. The moto-r now runs at its maximum rate of speed in hoisting, the speed depending-upon the load. To. stop the motor, the controller handle is moved to the off-position (that position shown on Fig. l). which causes the resistance R to he gradually inserted in series with the motor until the ott-position is reached, when the. motor circuit is opened and the brake winding B deenergized.4 allowing the brake to set, stop, and hohl the load.

'lo lower `the load, the operator moves the controller to the first position in the lowering direction, thereby establishing the following motor circuit: from the positive through the wire l, the linger 021, the contact (210, the contact 09, the finger 022, the wire 9. the trolley wire M, the trolley-wheel T2, and the wire 1 0 to the point O, Where the current divides intwo parallel i paths through the armatin'e and series field of the motor, the path through the field being through the wire 5, the series field F, the brake winding B, the wire 6, the trolleywheel T?, the trolley-wire N, and the wire 7 to the finger c25. joined by the other parallel circuit through the armature, which passes from the point through the armature in a direction opposite to that while in hoisting, thence through the wires 4t and 3, the trolley-wheel T, the trolley-wire L, the wire 2, the finger 023, the resistance R2, the iinger c, the contact cg, ythe contact c7, and the finger c25, where it joins the said circuit through the field, and the circuit is completed through the resistance R and the wire 8 to the negative. The mot-or will, therefore, run in a direction opposite to that in hoisting loecause the current through the ield'is the same as that in hoisting and the current through the armature has been reaersed.

The resistance R2 is placed in the armature branch of the circuit to balance the resistanceof the field and brake windings and cause sufficient current to flow through the field branch of the circuit to energize the brake winding suiiciently to release the brake, and to sufliciently energize the field F to produce the necessary torque in the motor to operate the hoisting mechanlsm. As the controller is moved farther in the lowering position, .theresistance R remains in the field branch of the circuit and is gradually cut out of the armature branch of the circuit until the position -6 is reached, at which time the armature is connected directly across the line,y having in its circuit only the resistance R2. hoist is so sniall'that it will not overcome `operate at its full e llare 'this circuit is- If the load onthev Log/1:2126

the friction of the hoisting mechanism, current will liow through the armature from the positive source of supply to the negative 1n the directionindicatcd above, and in position (3 ot` the controller' the armature will speedsince the iield vis fully energized, being' connected across the line in series with the resistance R, and the armature is connected across the line in series with the small. resistance R2. .lf the load on the hoisting luei'chanisu'i is great. enough to overhaul the saine, it will drive the motor as a generator and cause the current to be reversed in its direction through the armatur l and to flow. hack into the line in a direction opposite to that detailed in the above description, and the armature acting under the inlluence of the fully excited field F will act as a. dynamic brake to pre* vent the load from descending at too great a speed.

I will now describe the operationof the safety switch Il. This switch has a solenoid, winding it which is connected to the terminals of the motor armature through the wires l2 and 4 and the wires l1 and This winding is so designed that it will cause the switch to close its contacts h3 only when a voltage exceeding the voltage of the source of supply is applied to its terminals. After the switch has closed, this winding will then hold the switch closed until a very low voltage is applied. The resistance Ri" isconnected as a shunt across the motor armature through the contacts h3 of the switch H. While lowering a lightload the armature will receive current from the source of supply through the resistance R2, and the voltage across the terminals of the armature will always be less than that across the source of supply. Vhen thc motor is lowering a heavy load the voltage across the armature due to the inotor acting as a generator may be in excess of the voltage` across the source of supply, this excess amounting to the voltage rcquired to force the armature current through the resistance R2. Since the maximum load for which the hoist mechanism is designed will produce a certain maximum current through the armature due to the characteristics of a series wound mot-or, and since the resistance R2 is known, this excess voltage can he determined and will always he the same for any given hoisting mechanism. If now the switch H is so designed that the solenoid winding 71, will not operate the switch until a voltage is applied to its terminals amounting to the back E. M. F. of the armature when it is generating this maximum excess voltage, the switch l-l. will not close during the normal operation of the motor. should gain a speed higher than the speed under which it operates the heaviest load,

lf for any reason the armature- Vor vany of the connections ,cefalee caused by the operator attempting to lower a load greater than that tor which'the hoisting mechanism was designed, the switch ll. will close and cause the armature to be shunted Jfrom the point- O through the wire l1, the contacts it, the resistance R, and the wires l2 and LIl back to the armature.

This shunt on the armature will causo it. to f operate at a slow speed. the speed depending upon the value ot the resistance 'Re'. As soon as the switch ll closes, the solenoid winding 71, becomes connected across the resistancc R and the voltage drop across this insistance will depend upon the current flowing through the resistance R3, -which in turn depends upon the load vwhich is drive ing the motor as a generator.. The current which will liow through this resistance can be determined for any load which will overhaul the hoisting mechanism at a dangerous speedup to the maximum capacity of the mechanism. be designed to hold the switch closed on the smallest current which will flow through the resistance R3. 'It will thus be seen that the switch l-l. actsV as a safety speed limit which will automatically causfthe motor to-be slowed down before it reaches a speed p which will burst the armature binding wires or throw out the commutator bars.

It sometimes occurs with ho'ists of this kind that the trolley' wires will be broken from various causes, or that .the trolley wheels will become disconnected from the wires. It the trolley wire M should break thereto fail, the connection to the positive source ot' supply will be opened, which will open the circuit through the-series field F and the brake winding B, thus allowing the brake to set and stop and bold the load. For the same reason, the bralre will stop and hold the load in the event that the trolley wire N or anyT of its col'inections should fail. lli the trolley wire L should tail, however, a circuit is 'maintained from 'the positive through the ticld F, the brake winding B, and the rem'stance litto the iiegative. rlhe dynamic braking circuit through the armature would be broken at the point of failure in the wire L,

and since the 'brake winding holds the' brake in the released position, a heavy load would tend to drive the motor in the down direction. Since the arn'iature is revolving under the iniluence of a full tield excitation, it. will gei'ierate a voltage depending upon i speed and as soon as the speed is reached at which the switcli H is designed to close, this switch will. close and connect the armature in a dynamic braking circuit through the resistance R3 as above described. It the operator should fail to move the cont-roller to the oli-position, continue te operate at a sate slow speeduntil the load has reached the' ground, and

The solenoid b can thereforer the armature will l i l will deposit. it there without causing any dan'iagc to lthe load or t`o the hoist-ing mechanism. .lt is thus seen that the switch H prevent-s the motor attaining a speed above a certain sate limit from any cause due to too heavy a loading ot the hoisting mecha-- nisln, or to the Yfailure ot any of the motor circuits while operating in the lowering direction. .lt is plainly seen that, it the u'io` tor is operating in the hoisting direction, and any of the motor circuits should. `fail, the action of `gravity on the .load will cause it to stop, and the brake \'\.'iu ling .li will be denergi'ed and allow the brake to set and hold the load.

'In Fig. 2 l have shown the switch ll with. two windings, viz., a shunt winding /zf connected across the terminals of the armature.v and a series winding connected in series with the circuit through the r i. stance R3.

T he winding L is designed, as in the switch shown in Fig. l, to close the switch lil when the maxii'num safety speed of' the motor has been reached. As soon as the switch closes its contacts las* the circuit is established through the resistance and the coil h2, and. this coil will assist .in holding the switch closed so long as a current tlows in this dynamic lualing circuit.

In Fig. 3, l have shown the shunt coil it' connected to include the series Itield F instead o' the wire ll.

I have describedthe operation of nly invention in connection only with a. manu-all y operated controller, but it can obviously be applied to any control system in which the safety of operation depends 'upon a dynamic braking force generated by the motor as a generator.

In addition to the appli lation ot my invention as above described, it can obviously be applied to a generator, since my invention is shownto operate when a. motor is acting as a generator. ln case the speed ot the generator becomes higher than a predetermined speed, the voltage of the armature will increase proportionately, and 'when a certain voltage has been reached the safety switch will close, shunting the armature with the resistance R3, thereby increasing the load'on the generator, preventing it. from attaining too high a speed. This rcsistance could be proiriortioned vthat il4 fould prevent the generator driving power trom driving it at a dangerous speed under maximum driving conditions. The generator would be called upon to carry a certain overload at this time, but the liberal designs of present connnercial machines would allow heilig connected speed, I have prepared Fig. LL, in which the `generator armature Afftwhich maiY be a motor armature generating current hereinbetiore described), is lshown taking the` armature A in Fig. i2, and the winding /z ot Fig. is omitted. The switch H located over one end of the first class lever P, the remaining end of the lever to the vertically-slittable upper end of the links' of .the well-known ball-governor (if. The nonraveling lower end of the governor G is driven by` the belt Lr/t'rom some moving part of the armature driving power, as a steam engine. IVhen the armature driving power exceeds a certain speed, the governor (it causes the lever .P to rock so as to make the switch H engage the contacts 3 and close the armature shunt circuit through the armature A, the wires ,5 and l1, the switch lil, the wires 12 This shunt circuit increases the load on the armature, thereby slowing down the driving power. 'lf his circuit includes therein the winding 72,2 ot' the switch which winding rerains the switch closed so long as sutiicient current flows therein for the purpose. Then the current becomes too weak for the winding to retain the switch Il closed, the switch drops byv gravity or other power and opens the armature shunt circuit. Preferably the lever P not connected to the switch so that the former may retire from the latter without nnseating the switch.

In those claims in which the armature is place of the motor required to be in a. local circuit, it is not intended thereby positiivel)7 to exclude the field from the said local circuit, as the language of such claims is sntliciently*comprehensive tocover the local circuit with or without the field.

I do not limit my' invention to series wound motors or brakes, nor to any definite type of controller, nor to other details and combinations thereof unless required by the prior art or by language in the claims which permits of no other construction.

I claiml l. In -a motor control system, a motor, a switch connecting the armature to a source ot' supply, a permanently closed shunt around the motor armatureV including a the resistance R3, and and -Ltback to the ari'nature.'

kond shunt around the 'March 1910.

In a motor control system, a motor, a

switch connecting the armature to a source of supply, a permanently closed shunt around the motor armature lincluding` a, winding, an open shunt including a resistance around the armature, and an antomatio switch acted upon by the winding to close the open shunt whenever the circuit through the armature is disconnected from the source of supply while the first-named switch remains closed.

3. In a motor control system, an electric motor, .a permanently closed shunt around the armature,'a winding in the shunt, aseoond shunt around the armature having therein normally openi'switch contacts, and a'movable switch contact controlled by thc winding and arranged to engage the said open contacts whenever the current in the closed shunt rises above a value.

Jc. In a safety device for dynamo electric machines, a switch whose contacts are permanently connected in a shunt around the armature of the machine, a winding` in the shunt adapted to hold the switch closed when its contacts are closed, and means for causing said contacts to be electricallir connected' when the speed of the machine is above a certain value.

5. In a`motor control system, an electric motor, a 'permanently closed shunt around the armature, a winding in the slnmt, a secarmature having therein a pair of normally open contacts, and means controlled by said winding tor electrically connecting said contacts whenever the current in the closed Vshunt rises -above a predetermined value.

Signed at Cleveland, O., this 2nd day oit JAY H. HALL.

litnesses HENRY L. ASSET, H. M. 'Duinen'.

Copies of this patent may be obtained foi` tive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,l

` Washington, D. C. 

